15 UNSETTLING Folk Horror Movies That Defined the Genre: From 'The Wicker Man' to A24/The Witch 2015

The Horror That Slips Quietly Into Your Mind

Folk Horror is the subgenre where old rituals refuse to stay buried and the fear of the outsider is constant. We dive deep into 14 unsettling films that explore secret cults, pagan beliefs, and communities that follow rules older than civilization.

From the British "Unholy Trinity" to the modern A24 renaissance with The Witch (2015), discover why this is the most atmospheric and unforgettable horror cinema.

In this Folk Horror Deep Dive, we analyze:

Ancient Fear: The psychological terror of places that seem friendly, but are just a little too friendly.

The Unholy Trinity: Why films like The Wicker Man and Blood on Satan's Claw set the gold standard.

Controversial Classics: The Banned and censored power of a movie like The Devils.

Modern Masters: How The Ritual and Apostle sharpened these themes for a new generation.

Stick around if you dare to see what makes folk horror so deeply unsettling.

Time Stamps (14 Segments of Unsettling Folk Horror)

0:05 — The Horror That Doesn't Rely on Jump Scares (Intro)
1:00 — The City of the Dead (1960)
2:05 — Lucifer Rising (1972)
3:17 — The Devils (1971) - The BANNED Classic
4:10 — Apostle (2018)
5:09 — The Ritual (2017)
5:56 — Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971)
6:53 — Kill List (2011)
7:49 — Hagazusa (2017)
8:46 — The Final Prayer (2013) / The Borderlands
9:36 — Wakewood (2009)
10:24 — Mandy (2018)
11:05 — Occult Horror's Foundation: The Ninth Gate (1999) & Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
11:48 — The Witch (2015) - The A24 Masterpiece
12:34 — THE DEFINITION: The Wicker Man (1973)

Movie Clip Credits (used for commentary/review):
The City of the Dead (1960) – Dir. John Llewellyn Moxey
Lucifer Rising (1972) – Dir. Kenneth Anger
The Devils (1971) – Dir. Ken Russell
Apostle (2018) – Dir. Gareth Evans
The Ritual (2017) – Dir. David Bruckner
Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971) – Dir. Piers Haggard
Kill List (2011) – Dir. Ben Wheatley
Hagazussa (2017) – Dir. Lukas Feigelfeld
The Final Prayer / The Borderlands (2013) – Dir. Elliot Goldner
Wake Wood (2009) – Dir. David Keating
Mandy (2018) – Dir. Panos Cosmatos
The Ninth Gate (1999) – Dir. Roman Polanski
Rosemary’s Baby (1968) – Dir. Roman Polanski
The Witch (2015) – Dir. Robert Eggers
The Wicker Man (1973) – Dir. Robin Hardy
All clips are used under fair use for commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.

Music Credits (Pixabay & Freesound.org):
534018-Lookimadeathing – Sci-Fi Ambient Drone (Pixabay)
623878__szegvari – Dark Sahara / Dark Thriller (Freesound.org)
724905__madgravitystudio – Phrygian Fog (Freesound.org)
812153__webaudio360 – Horror Chase Song (Freesound.org)
556610__mpro – Horror Music XD (Freesound.org)
living-dead-298306 (Freesound.org)
hunter-in-the-nobody-404341 (Freesound.org)
617156__beetlemuse – Gorgeous Ghosts (Freesound.org)
575743__audiomirage – Josef Pres Audio Mirage Remix (Freesound.org)
615584__bigvegie – DeepDark (Freesound.org)
404913__shortiefoeva2 – Bewitched Dark Hip Hop Music (Freesound.org)
All tracks used under Creative Commons / royalty-free licenses for commentary and review purposes.

** FAIR USE DISCLAIMER **
All footage used in this video is either licensed through CC-BY, from various Stock Footage Websites, or filmed by us. All creative commons footage is listed at the video's end and is licensed under CC-BY 3.0. Any film and TV shows used in this video are interwoven with the video's narrative, related with the video's topic, and corresponding to ‘Fair Use’. Under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for ‘Fair Use’ for purposes such as: criticism, commenting, news reporting, education, scholarship, and reasearch. ‘Fair Use’ is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.